


That Which Stays

by M J Holyoke (wholeyolk)



Category: Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
Genre: Birthday Wishes, Celebrations, Chocolate Box Exchange 2020, F/M, Future Fic, Hope, POV First Person, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:19:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22200157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wholeyolk/pseuds/M%20J%20Holyoke
Summary: “Surprise! Happy birthday!”The crowd cheers. Catherine Benn holds out the birthday cake, candles already lit, and beckons me forward.
Relationships: Miss Kenton/Mr. Stevens (Remains of the Day)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	That Which Stays

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sinking Beatrice (Beatrice_Sank)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beatrice_Sank/gifts).



“Surprise! Happy birthday!”

The crowd cheers. Catherine Benn holds out the birthday cake, candles already lit, and beckons me forward.

I am surprised by the turnout, I must confess. I’ve never been one to make a big to-do about birthdays and generally prefer to pass mine unmarked by celebration. It is not my proper place, I feel, to be at the centre of attention. But my employer Mr Farraday is an American, and he calls my sense of propriety silly and old-fashioned. In this light, he decision to organise a surprise eightieth birthday party for me seems a foregone conclusion.

“Come on. Make a wish, Mr Stevens!” says Catherine. “Maybe it’ll come true!”

She looks happy today, and this gladdens my heart. The new decade has not been easy for Catherine, what with the acrimonious divorce and the subsequent demands of single motherhood. I had been pleased to assist her in securing stable employment at Darlington Hall, and her tireless support at work and, yes, friendship these past years have been great boons to me as I approach the twilight years of my life.

I smile indulgently. Yes, these have been good years on the balance – some of the best, in fact. I would wish for nothing more, nothing more at all, except perhaps . . .

“Mr Stevens.”

“Why, Mrs Benn, now this _is_ a surprise.” I cannot remember the last time I saw Catherine’s mother. Her arthritis makes travel difficult and she does not like to leave Cornwall, and I hope the intensity of my reaction to her sudden appearance out from behind her daughter is not too obvious. I would prefer to keep my more unruly emotions to myself, but I am not certain if I have succeeded in this.

“Happy birthday,” she murmurs and hugs me warmly.

I stiffen at her touch – old habits die hard, as they say – and when she kisses me, firmly, her lips against mine, time itself seems to stop. Were a doctor to tell me my heart had just skipped a beat, I would believe it.

“You . . . you look lovely in blue,” I say. She does. Such a change from the sombre black of mourning after Mr Benn had passed! I stare at Mrs Benn as if hypnotised.

“Hey, don’t forget to blow out the candles!” Catherine interrupts. “And don’t forget to make a wish either!”

I’m old but not senile. And truth be told, my fondest wish has already come true.

“Ah yes, of course,” I say. “We mustn’t neglect the candles.”

I hold Mrs Benn’s gaze as I blow them all out in a single breath.


End file.
